U.N. News Centre: U.N. agency advocates for higher tobacco taxes to save millions of lives “Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, the United Nations health agency is calling on countries to raise taxes on tobacco to encourage users to stop and prevent other people from becoming addicted to tobacco…” (5/30).

Huffington Post: World No Tobacco Day: Tobacco Control Offers Proven Public Health Benefits — Will China Seize the Opportunity? Jeffrey Sturchio, senior partner at RabinMartin, and Ambassador Sally Cowal, senior vice president of global health at the American Cancer Society “…China alone has an estimated 300 million smokers — nearly…

BMJ Group Blogs: NCDs and HIV — where’s the intersection? Florence Smith, a research assistant at C3 Collaborating for Health, discusses a recent symposium organized by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and FHI360 that looked at the benefits of integrated care for HIV and non-communicable diseases (NCDs)…

News outlets examine China’s proposal to institute a ban on smoking in public places. NBC News: Can China really stop 350 million people from smoking? “…It was hardly a surprise when the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced last week that China — the world’s largest producer and consumer…

Los Angeles Times: The global grip of cigarette smoking Thomas Bollyky, senior fellow for global health, economics and development at the Council on Foreign Relations “… [The] 1964 surgeon general’s report on smoking and health spurred profound and lasting changes in tobacco use and policies in the United States, but…

News outlets examine efforts to improve access to cancer treatments in Malawi and India. Financial Times: Cancer eclipsed as global donors focus on other diseases “…The international focus on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis — with billions of dollars spent annually under the umbrella of the UN Millennium Development Goals –…

New York Times: The Global Cancer Burden “Cancer is on the rise around the world and poses a particular threat in many low- and middle-income countries. … The findings [of a recent International Agency for Research on Cancer report] underscore the importance of strengthening the health care systems of low-income…

News outlets examine the recently released Overseas Development Institute (ODI) report on rising obesity levels in the developing world. The report urges governments to take action. BBC News: Obesity quadruples to nearly one billion in developing world “The number of overweight and obese adults in the developing world has almost…

Devex: 5 ways to accelerate global health in 2014 Allan Pamba, director of public engagement and access initiatives at GSK “…If we’re to cement the progress already made in helping people live healthier lives — regardless of where they live — we must start making last year’s conversations a reality.…

News outlets examine the results of a new study released by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, titled “Smoking Prevalence and Cigarette Consumption in 187 Countries, 1980-2012.” Results show that China, in particular, has seen a rise in its number of smokers. U.S. News & World…